Hawai'i is a hotbed of self-publishers. Here's a selection from the latest batch we've received. Most are available on www.amazon.com or www.bn.com.

"Geckos & Other Guests: Tales of a Kaua'i Bed & Breakfast" by Gabriela Taylor; Na Pali Press, $14

The gist: In a series of reminisces, Taylor tells her Hawai'i story, from first visiting and expecting a tourist-only "Blue Hawaii" through 12 years of running a bed-and-breakfast on Kaua'i.

Opening line: "Like Pavlov's dog responding to a bell, I crawled out of bed, stumbled to the phone and noticed it was 7 a.m."

Extra info: A witless employee unable to navigate e-mail was the straw that broke the camel's back, causing Taylor to close her establishment.

"Where You Like Go?: From Survival to Satisfaction by Honolulu Taxi" by Cloudia W. Charters; Outskirts Press, $11.95

The gist: Taxicab confessions in novel form. Longtime resident Charters' protagonist June learns a lot about O'ahu driving a taxi. The chapters cover everything from Hi'iaka to Kalakaua to Termite Palace to chicken katsu.

Opening line: "Fortunately, Honolulu is just like every other city in one important way, it is a completely different town at night."

Extra info: The author is a cleric, and a spirituality and healing consultant.

"Blues in Paradise: A Weekend of Stories" by Lou Zitnik, $15

Gist: The foreword by Zitnik, who lives on the Big Island and has won fiction prizes from Honolulu magazine, reads, "These are not Hawaiian stories. Not local or regional stories. They are a traveler's stories, written for restless people who long for a place to call home."

Opening line: "Friday night the Golden Madonna appeared in Hilo."

Extra info: The book can be purchased by mailing a check for $15 to Lou Zitnik, 47 Hualilili St., Hilo, HI 96720.

"Surfing Heaven: An Afterlife Adventure ... " by Phillip Cothran; BookSurge Publishing, $14.99

The gist: Pro surfer Jake Barr wipes out, dies — and that's just the beginning. Sci-fi meets "Paumalu."

Opening line: "Jake Barr was flying down a liquid mountain, a mountain of a wave."

Extra info: The book was written in 1995.

"The Actress and the Pope" by Alina Borkowski; Rosedog Books, $13

The gist: Polish-American actress and Hawai'i resident Borkowski recounts her experience staging the play "The Jeweler's Shop," by Pope John Paul II.

Opening line: (Following an excerpt of a review of the author's play.) "I was reading this from a new article about me in the Oregon Journal by Janet Stone on my flight from Portland to Honolulu. ..."

Extra info: Includes recipes and a reprint of an article by The Advertiser's Wayne Harada.

"On Six Dollars to America: A Tale of Adventure, Courage and Reward" by Meheroo Jussawalla; BookSurge, $13.99

The gist: In her memoir, Jusawalla goes from the crumbling British Raj to "Mrs. Gandhi's gargantuan ego" to her arrival in Honolulu and beyond.

Opening line: "In the early 1930s there were two cities divided by an artificial lake with two different lifestyles and two different cultures, jointly known as the capital city of the princely state of Hyderabad — also known as Nizam's Dominion."

Extra info: Jussawalla is an emerita senior fellow/economist at the East-West Center.

"Dachau, Holocaust and US Samurais: Nisei Soldiers First in Dachau?" by Pierre Moulin; AuthorHouse, $49.50

The gist: A historical look at the Holocaust, the Dachau extermination camp and the role that Japanese-American soldiers played in the war effort for the U.S.

Opening line: "Adolf Hitler was just named chancellor of Germany."

Extra info: Moulin lives in Wai'anae.